obviously I'm talking about unsweetened, unprocessed cocoa -- which can be found in powdered form from online merchants or in health food shops.

I was thinking about starting to drink natural hot cocoa for some of its heart-healthy benefits and for the fact that I want at least something hot to drink daily, as generally I dislike both coffee and tea - so cocoa it is. The KUNA indigenous people of Panama drink about 40 cups of cocoa a week -- from which they attribute their good cardiovascular heath. But we've all heard of the health effects of dark chocolate, however in regards to insulin sensitivity, probably not.

March 11, 2005 — Dark chocolate improves insulin sensitivity and resistance and decreases blood pressure, whereas white chocolate does not, according to the results of a randomized study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

After a seven-day cocoa-free run-in phase, 15 healthy participants were randomized to receive either dark chocolate bars or white chocolate bars for 15 days, followed by another seven-day cocoa-free washout phase and then crossover to the other chocolate. The dark chocolate bars weighed 100 g and contained approximately 500 mg polyphenols; the white chocolate bars weighed 90 g and presumably contained no polyphenols. At the end of each period, oral glucose tolerance tests were performed to calculate the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI).

Study limitations include inability to determine if positive changes in insulin sensitivity induced by dark chocolate were due to increased NO availability, and inability to completely exclude the contribution of other substances present in dark but not in white chocolate bars to the positive effects noted.

"Dark, but not white, chocolate decreases blood pressure and improves insulin sensitivity in healthy persons," the authors write. "These findings indicate that dark chocolate may exert a protective action on the vascular endothelium also by improving insulin sensitivity. Obviously, large scale trials are needed to confirm these protective actions of dark chocolate or other flavanol-containing foods in populations affected by insulin-resistant conditions such as essential hypertension and obesity."

In an accompanying editorial, Cesar G. Fraga, from the University of California, Davis, and the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, cites the large body of epidemiologic evidence suggesting that diets rich in fruit and vegetables may attenuate or delay the onset of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.

"The interpretation that flavanols and procyanidins contained in the dark chocolate used in this study may be associated with the observed health effects is tempting but remains speculative," Dr. Fraga writes. "The identification of healthy foods and the understanding of how food components influence normal physiology will help to improve the health of the population.... Further studies in larger groups and in diabetic and hypertensive individuals are needed to confirm the healthy effects of chocolate, cocoa, and flavanols."

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A white chocolate bar contains more sugar than a dark chocolate bar... I find it incredible that this fact wasn't taken into account in the researchers' analysis of their results (at least in the text Fenthis posted).

A white chocolate bar contains more sugar than a dark chocolate bar... I find it incredible that this fact wasn't taken into account in the researchers' analysis of their results (at least in the text Fenthis posted).

I was thinking the same thing and wondered if there is any way that the difference in weight of the two types of bars reperesented that the only difference between the two was the addition of 10 grams of cocoa. Also this study looks suspiciously as though it is trying to promote eating candy bars rather than the health benefits of raw cocoa which is at best an acquired taste. For some cocoa will be considered inedible without sweetening. Still Dark choclate of 75% or above is one of my favorite cheat treats. I am in a small town on the oregon coast right now and this little coffe shop has a 91% cocoa candy bar with some super fancy type of cocoa in it. I am deffinatly getting one.

I agree, the posted article wasn't the best selection. There are better ones online using concentrated, natural cocoa sources.

Anyway, I bought some cocoa yesterday from here, which is available in 4 ounces or 1 pound: http://www.starwest-botanicals.com/p...r-organic.html (they also sell some mugwort if you're into psychical dreams) and will report back with how I feel about true, cocoa tea. haha

Yes it does, that and being Dutch-processed. Go for 100% organic, especially for the cardiovascular benefits.

In other news, I find that I've been leaner than usual as of late with my recent addition of milk back into my diet. I used to drink a lot of milk as a kid and was always lean, then heard about the apparent wrongings of dairy and eliminated it from my intake. Started it drinking it again and noticing my body fat shrinking. Strange.

My body seems to be able to handle dairy extremely well - that or all the extra calcium that I'm getting (I don't believe even the cruciferous veggies rank near as well as milk calcium)

I'm currently reading Anticancer: A New Way of Life by Dr David Servan-Schreiber and on p.140 there's mention of another potential health benefit of eating chocolate -

Quote:

Blueberries contain anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins, molecules which are capable of forcing cancer cells to commit suicide (apoptosis). In the laboratory these molecules act on several cancer lines and are particularly effective against colon cancer. Other rich sources of proanthocyanidins are cranberries, cinnamon and dark chocolate.